Gaming On A Budget: 8/6/2015 Edition

Tabitha is currently experiencing some technical difficulties at the moment, so I’ll be bringing you this weeks Gaming On A Budget 8/6/2015 Edition instead. This time around we’ve got some huge discounts on PlayStation Network versions of games from our pals over at Nippon Ichi America, featuring such hit series as Danganronpa, Disgaea, and more. So if you’re into JRPGs, adventure games, or visual novels, then this is your week, my good friend.

1. Danganronpa 1: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita, $20)

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2. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita, $20)

Normally priced at $40, this pair of murder mystery adventures hits an all time low this week at $16 for PS+ users and 20$ for the rest of us, both on the PS Vita. If you’re looking to catch up on the series before the release of Ultra Despair Girls on September 1st, there is no better time to jump into the world of hope and despair conjured by Danganronpa.

A bit of an odd game, Danganronpa tells the story of Hope’s Peak Academy tells the story of Hope’s Peak Academy, an elite school where the best and brightest of humanity’s youths gather to further their own education. However, when the 78th class arrives at this prestigious institution, they find themselves greet not by teachers and text books, but rather a mysterious bear-like character calling himself Monokuma, who promises the students that they’ll be stuck in the school forever…unless one of them manages to kill one of their classmates and get away with it, that is.

3. Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited (Vita, $20)

Another Vita game joins the list in this port of the 2012 PS3 SRPG Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten. Coming in at 16 bucks for PS+ people and $20 for the rest of us dorks, this port takes what I consider to be the best game in the Disgaea series and adds in a seemingly endless series of extra for your gaming pleasure. From including nearly every piece of DLC found from the PS3 release for free, to adding a completely new story mode involving time travel, vampires and truuuue looveee, this is perhaps the best version of an already great game. If you’ve got a thing for SRPGs, this certainly is among the best you’ll find on the Vita, or any other system for that matter.

4.The Guided Fate Paradox (PS3, $10)

Here we have a true deal, as this much overlooked 2013 rouge-like for the PS3 clocks in at a mere $10 dollars on the PSN. Yes, rogue-like’s are hard, grindy, and punish you relentlessly for dying, but The Guided Fate Paradox is a charming game that is perhaps even more absurd in premise and execution than even the Disgaea series, which is known for being rather silly, and is a great play even if you’re not typically a fan of the genre. The art by Haruhi Suzumiya-series character designer and artist, Noizi Ito doesn’t hurt either. A word of caution however, this games sequel, The Awakened Fate Ultimatum, is not very good and not really worth a play through even on sale.

In this rouge-like RPG, players take on the role of a completely average teenage boy who accidentally gets himself into hot water after a lottery drawing at his local mall earns him the job of God, with a capital G. Now tasked with defeating evil and demons wherever they lurk, he must save the souls of the downtrodden and depressed by diving through difficult dungeons and mazes and fighting the monsters he finds there with items he picks up on the ground. While most of these tools are typical RPG fare, such as axes, swords, and guns, you’ll also be able to equip such oddities as a whole car, a horse head mask, and mermaid tail, each of which brings our hero/God new and often humorous attacks.

5. GrimGrimoire (PS3, $4)

An overlooked gem from developer Vanilla Ware (Odin’s Sphere, Dragon’s Dogma), GrimGrimoire is a PS2 game, now port to the PS3 as part of the PS3 classic’s line, that is best described as a cross between a visual novel and Real-Time Strategy game. Between long bouts of talking to your character’s classmates and professors’ as a school for magic users very similar to that found in the Harry Potter series of books, you must do battle on a large map by harvest resources from crystals and assembling an army of mythical creatures and beasts such as elves, chimeras, and skeletons.

Though difficult and often overwhelming in scope, GrimGrimoire features great gameplay, art, music, and is just plain interesting to play for most of its short run. Though something of a novelty, I highly suggest this cheap as heck title for anyone looking for something new and different in their gaming diet.

That brings this week’s article to a close, join us next week when we return the column to its rightful owner for another round of Gaming on a Budget.

My name is Nicole Seraphita and I’m 27. I’ve been gaming since the days of the NES and have owned at least one system from each generation since then. My favorite type of games if most definitely RPGs, with my favorites being titles like Chrono Cross, Persona 4, and Tales of Xillia, though I also sometimes dabble in platforming games, fighting games, and visual novels.
When I’m not writing for APGNation or playing games, I enjoy table top and card games, watch anime, and write fiction that I occasionally publish online. I tend to write a lot of Sci-fi and the occasional bit of fantasy, with the often overlooked sub-genre of Biopunk being my favorite. I’ve also written a few visual novels, though only one of them has made it all the way to completion thus far. My current dream is to be able to bring the Monster Girl genre to a western audience.